"Thank you for your hard work (for democratization in Korea). If you need my help, please do not hesitate to contact me." (A letter written by US President-elect Joe Biden to former President Kim Dae-jung on September 30, 1983)
1980s Kim Two letters exchanged between the former president and elect Biden were revealed for the first time on the 9th.
Yonsei University's Kim Dae-jung Library's recent releases are a letter from Biden-elect (then Senator) to former President Kim on September 30, 1983, and a letter from former President Kim to Biden-elect on February 27, 1984.
During his exile in the United States from 1982 to 1985, former President Kim continued to send letters enclosed with his speeches and contributions on the subject of democratization in Korea and foreign policy in the United States to key US figures.
Biden's letter is a reply to a letter from former President Kim.
In this letter, Mr. Biden said, "The information you sent will be useful" and "we will carefully review the issues you are dealing with."
At the time, Democratic Senator-elect Biden was one of the lawmakers who actively supported and cooperated with former President Kim's activities for democratization in Korea.
Since then, Biden-elect and former President Kim have built up friendships.
In a letter sent to Biden-elect in 1984, the following year, Kim criticized the lifting of 202 political figures of the Chun Doo-hwan regime as a deceptive measure and discussed these'urgent issues'. Proposed a meeting for you.
The Kim Dae-jung Library explained, "This historical document is significant in that it is the first disclosure of historical historical material related to the two people in the early mid-1980s, when the relationship between former President Kim and Biden-elect began."
He said, "While former President Kim Dae-jung passed away, Biden, who had a close relationship with Kim for a long time, was elected president of the United States. Therefore, it will be necessary to refer to these facts in establishing diplomatic strategies with the United States in the future in realizing Korean national interests. "He added.
(Photo = Courtesy of Kim Dae-jung Library, Yonsei University, Yonhap News)